The Light That Shines
by RCTM
Summary: When an ordinary practical joke in the Hall of Origin backfires in the most unexpected of ways, it's up to a deity of time, a deity of space, a cynical basilisk, and a teenage boy to find a way to stop it before the boy becomes stuck like he is forever. TF
1. Prologue

**The Light That Shines**

_Description: _When an ordinary practical joke in the Hall of Origin backfires in the most unexpected of ways, it's up to a deity of time, a deity of space, a cynical basilisk, and a teenage boy to find a way to stop it before it's too late, and he becomes stuck like this forever.

**~Prologue~**

…_**Oops.**_

_An ordinary day in the Hall of Origin…_

"Hmm…" Giratina hummed idly, scanning an issue of the _Sinnoh Science Journal. _Only he, Arceus, Palkia, and Dialga were present in the Hall at this time of day.

"Incoming!" Palkia exclaimed, and the ghost dragon quickly raised up a wing to deflect whatever idiotic prank the space deity had thought up now. Living here, you come to expect these as daily occurrences-

But not what happened next, as the attack-a Spatial Rend-_bounced off of his wing_, smashing through a nearby window and streaking off into the distance.

The ghost looked back at the space deity, who was whistling and twiddling his claws sheepishly. "Eheheheh…oops?" He commented apologetically. The basilisk just rolled his eyes, returning to his magazine.

"Let's just hope that that doesn't do too much dam-" *_CRICK...CR-__**K-K**__…CRA__**KOOM**__!* _A loud crumbling noise could be heard in the distance-in other words, Palkia's attack grazed the side of Mt. Silver and sheared off about a hundred metric tons of rock from the massive mountain, tumbling into the forest below with an thunderous crash. "-You've _really_ done it this time, Palkia. You do know I'm going to have to let Arceus know about this, right?"

"Yes, Giratina." He replied, rubbing his arm at his side. "I'm sorry, Giratina."

"And stop doing that. It's hardly befitting of a god of space, and it makes you sound like an eight-year-old being berated by his parents." He scolded sharply. "Now, who's going to tell him?"

"No need." Arceus interrupted, trotting over to the chair with a stern glare on His features that generally meant someone-almost always Palkia, Raikou, Mew, and/or Latias-was in _very_ deep trouble. "But there is nothing even _I_ can do to stop an attack of that magnitude now that it has covered such a distance."

"So you're just going to let it keep going until it possibly _levels_ a major human city?" Giratina exclaimed incredulously.

"The blame of this incident falls squarely on Palkia's shoulders, not on my own." He intoned sternly.

"How will we know when it stops?" The space deity inquired curiously.

"An earthshakingly loud-" Giratina began, stopping and blinking as he noticed something in the distance.

A massive flash, eventually followed by a faint, high pitched "_Shing!_" "…Something like that?"

_Meanwhile, in Pallet Town…_

_Ash Ketchum's Viewpoint_

I whistled cheerily, strolling toward Oak's pokemon laboratory with my friends May, Max, Brock, Misty, and Dawn in tow, and Pikachu on my shoulder.

"Wow! Look at all of the pokemon!" Max gushed, having never seen such a diverse variety of species in such a small area.

"So this 'Oak' guy…he's friendly, right? Not a crotchety old badger or anything like that?" Dawn asked curiously.

"Nah; he's probably the nicest old man you'll ever meet." I replied reassuringly.

"It's good to be back home, isn't it Ash?" Misty asked, cradling an Azurill in her arms-much like she'd done with Togepi before she released it.

I breathed in the pristine beachfront air, sighing happily. "Definitely. And after we've visited Oak to see how everyone's doing, we can all go over to my mom's house for the _best_ food you'll ever eat."

Brock's shoulders sagged. "Aww, man…"

"Don't worry, Brock; as far as camping food goes, you're still…on…top…?" Max defended, trailing off as he noticed a vividly purple streak of light hurtling through the sky.

"Hey, uh…Ash?" The boy asked timidly. When I turned to look at him, I noticed he was facing away from me and pointing up at the sky.

"What…what _is_ that?" Dawn asked slowly, squinting as the light became brighter and brighter. Pikachu seemed to recognize what it was and scampered off as fast as he could, frantically issuing his cry all the while.

"If pokemon are running away from it, what do you think _we _should be doing?" Max suggested.

"Whatever it is, it's going way too fast to outrun! Everyone, find cover!" Brock warned.

Everyone else managed to get behind something, but by the time I had reached the edge of the road, a spatial distortion-apparently caused by the strange light-dragged me _towards_ it and began to twist around the matter of my body. It felt like I was being pressed through a potato masher, and the next thing I knew-

_***FSSSHIIIIIING!* **_There was a tremendous flash…

And I was lying in the middle of the road, unconscious. Nothing had been damaged-with the exception of a few smoking, blackened leaves on the nearby trees from the blindingly bright flash that the strange projectile had emitted on impact.

My friends slowly appeared out of their cover, as Pikachu practically _dragged_ the Professor out to where I was.

"What? Pikachu, _what_ is going on? What was that flash? Why are you even _here_?" The man asked frantically, stopping in his tracks as he noticed me lying in the street. "A-Ash? And all of his friends, too?"

"We _were_ going to give you and Delia a surprise visit." Misty explained. "But it looks like something had other plans."

"_Pi_ pika pikachu pi_ka?_! (Can't _any_ of you see that that was a _Spatial Rend_ attack?" The electric mouse exclaimed incredulously, before sweatdropping as nobody paid any attention to him whatsoever. "Pi, pika…pi pika pikachu…(Oh, right…humans can't understand pokemon…)"

"Whatever the cause, we need to get him medical attention as soon as possible! Help me carry him into the non-pokemon treatment room!" Oak ordered rapidly, picking up my legs. Everyone stared at him, even Pikachu.

"It's typically just for accidental poisonings and paralysis, but we need to get him out of the street, so we may as well take him inside!" Brock nodded in affirmation and picked me up by the head and neck. May, Misty, and Dawn shared my midsection, and Pikachu just rode on top of me.

The professor opened the door, and in no time at all they had already gotten me up the stairs and into the bedroom. (Yes, Oak _actually_ called the guest bedroom the "non-pokemon treatment room.")

As they put me in the soft bed and quietly exited the room, none of them seemed to notice my skin slowly turning a deep black…

**The cliffhangers begin.**

**So yeah, I basically had an idea for this, and just ran with it. You'll see what's happening to Ash…next chapter.**

**Yeah, I know that this has probably already been done in a similar fashion-and TF as a premise **_**itself**_** approximately eight hundred sixty-three thousand, four hundred thirty-seven times, give or take-in other words, done **_**far**_** beyond death, but I'm not going to change it. And with any luck, it won't be a copy of all the other stuff out there-**

**At least, not **_**precisely**_**.**

**Until then, this is RCTM, punching out for the day.**

**-~RCTM~-**


	2. ALPCWCPOCTRI

**Working title: **_**A Lustrous Phenomena, Catalyst to Which a Cavalcade of Peculiar Occurrences Commence Their Repeated Instances**_**.**** (****Ridiculously long, I know, but I'm feeling especially verbose tonight.)**

**Okay; I know I haven't updated in a **_**century**_**,-(In fact, I've been working on a **_**third, **_**considerably more mature story in the background. I'm purposefully evading the rewrite of that first story, in case you didn't already figure it out)-but here we go. I'm not 100% confident in how well-written this part of the story is, but bear with me.**

**~Chapter the First~**

_The next morning…_

_Professor Oak's Perspective_

"*_Yaaaaawn_…*" I announced my awakening with a loud yawn, thumping down the stairs to prepare myself a pot of coffee for the morning rollcall.

"Hey, keep it down will you?" May moaned groggily, sitting up from the couch and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Oh, I didn't know you all stayed here overnight! If I'd know that, I would have prepared you the guest rooms!" I apologized politely.

"This is pretty comfortable, actually…" Brock added, getting out of a densely packed puffy recliner.

"I was just going to do a roll-call on Ash's pokemon…*Yawn*…Do-" I began.

"Sure!" Max exclaimed eagerly, bolting upright and sprinting to the doorway. Everyone sweatdropped.

"Let me have my coffee first…In the meantime, you can go up and check on A-"

"_**DRAAAAAA!" **_Something screeched loudly from Ash's room. All of us, now fully awake, stormed up the stairs and whirled open the door.

In all my years of being a professor, I've never even_ heard_ of an event like this.

Lying right where Ash had been not a day before, was a _black_ _Drapion._ Everyone yelped in alarm, and Misty Scooby Doo-hopped right into Brock's arms at the sight of the massive bug.

"W-what…how…" I stuttered, too shocked to create coherent sentences.

"W-where is Ash? Why is there a black Drapion in his bed?" Brock asked incredulously.

"D-drae! Dra! _Drapion_! (_I-I'm_ Ash! Me! _Right here_!)" He exclaimed, but only Pikachu understood him.

"_**P-pi**_? Pika pikachu? (_**A-Ash**_?Why are you a Drapion?)" The electric rodent exclaimed in alarm, and noticed something around my midsection-my pokeball belt.

The mouse tugged on my pant leg, jumping onto the bed and grabbing a ball off of Ash's belt. He shook it at me and pointed repeatedly at the Drapion.

Realizing what Pikachu meant, I became wide-eyed in astonishment. "_A-ash_? Pikachu, are you trying to say that this Drapion is actually _Ash_?" I asked weakly. He rolled his eyes and threw up his pincers, as if to say "_Finally,_ he gets it!"

"Are you saying…that that weird light turned him into that…_thing_?" Misty asked incredulously.

The scorpion seemed to take offense at the term, and screeched angrily.

"I'm assuming that Ash doesn't like to be called a 'thing.'" I observed. He nodded in affirmation, hopping off of the bed and shaking the floor slightly as he landed. "And I wouldn't recommend getting a giant scorpion angry, even if he _is_-supposedly-Ash."

He edged is way through the group-which wasn't a problem, as we got out of his way out of _fear_ rather than courtesy.

"Where does your 135-pound giant scorpion-" Max began.

"Anywhere it wants to." Everyone interrupted deadpan. The boy crossed his arms in a huff, and suddenly noticed the black scorpion going out into the field. He quickly sprinted down the stairs, going out after him.

_Oak's Laboratory Field_

_Bulbasaur's Viewpoint_

I narrowed my eyes at the suspicious black Drapion that had just entered the field, with that one other boy…what was his name?

Max! That's right, it was Max. But that scorpion…

_*All "poke-speech" is translated for reader-as well as _writer_-convenience from this point forward*_

"And who might you be?" I asked insistently, walking toward the two. The boy made to pet me, but I pushed his hand away with a vine.

"Ash."

"Ahahahahah-Tauros_shit._" The herd of thirty said bovine raised their heads, glaring at me, and I smiled sheepishly in return. "Eheheh…no offense intended, guys. But Ash is a _human_. Tell me your _real_ name, Drapion."

"Bulbasaur, you really think I'm lying? You can ask me again and again, but the answer will always be the same. If you don't believe me, look at me with a straight face and _tell_ me I'm lying." He explained, surprisingly calm for a species like him.

I reluctantly looked him in the eyes. Strangely, they looked exactly…like his trainer's? I mulled over the possibility, thinking that maybe those flowers I ate were gracideas, and I was just hallucinating. I then discounted that possibility, seeing as how its hallucinogenic effects didn't occur so long after ingesting them.

Thinking of no other explanation, I closed my eyes, ending the staring contest as I glanced at the ground and sighed in resignation. "I…I can't. I can't prove you _aren't_ him, though I still don't _believe_ you're him." I replied.

"Hey, who's the new guy?" Gliscor asked, gliding onto a nearby tree branch.

"Ash." The shady scorpion replied simply. The FlyScorpion stared at him for a long time, suddenly bursting out into laughter.

"GAHA_HAHAHA_HAAAA! Yeah right, like I'm gonna believe that! AHAHA_HAAAA_!" He taunted, falling out of the tree and rolling around on the ground. Eventually, he stopped laughing. "Ahahaha…aha…_ahaha_…aha. Well then." Both the scorpion and I sweatdropped at the change in his tone. "Quit joking. Who are you?"

…

Kricketots.

"Oh my god you're serious." He deadpanned. "H-how…b-but…but, but…" He spluttered, eye twitching.

"_That doesn't make any _sense_!_" He burst out. "_How does a human just_ up _and turn into a_ Drapion?"

"_Why are you yelling_?" Torterra bellowed angrily, tromping over-and pausing as she noticed the unfamiliar quadrupedal insect. "Who-"

"Ash…_maybe_." Me and Gliscor deadpanned simultaneously.

She blinked, stepping back slightly. "Wait, what? And what do you mean, _maybe_?"

"Well…he _says _he is, and his eyes kind of _look_ like Ash's, but there's really no way to prove it."

"So…you're trusting a _Dark-type _based on the _honor system_? And the _color of his eyes_?" She asked skeptically, tilting her head to the side.

"Ash? If you're out here, breakfast is ready!" May called from the patio. We blinked, and the second we opened our eyes again we noticed the black Drapion sliding the patio door closed as he entered the lab. Everyone sweatdropped.

"He's Ash, all right." The Torterra deadpanned.

"What was that about Ash?" Bayleef exclaimed excitedly, dashing out of the nearby patch of trees.

"Just missed him." Bulbasaur answered simply. She hung her head, leaf drooping disappointedly.

"Don't fret, I'm sure you can attempt sexual assault on him soon enough." Torterra deadpanned. Everyone except Bayleef snickered, and the plant grew red from embarrassment.

She chuckled heartily. "Don't think I can't tell. And from the look on your face, I can also tell that you're jealous about your competition?"

"Yeah, at least four o-"

"Ehehehey! I never knew Ash was so popular with the ladies!" Gliscor commented, interrupting her. "So, do we know who?" He asked curiously.

"I never knew you were such a gossip, Gliscor." Bulbasaur commented jokingly. Nobody appeared to hear him.

She sighed. "Hmm…Well, there's Misty." I rolled my eyes, expecting her to be on the list. "I _suspect _May and Dawn…" Gliscor scratched his head, and Torterra snorted incredulously.

"Please, if Dawn were into Ash, she'd be acting _way_ differently around him." The dinosaur commented skeptically.

"And…eheheh, this is going to sound pretty far-fetched…but-"

_*Scene Flip*_

_Alto Mare_

**Narr: …Who **_**didn't **_**see that coming, huh? I asked.**

**Ash: I didn't!**

**Narr: Yes, well…you're Ash. I replied simply, as if that explained everything. (Technically, it did.)**

**Ash: And?**

**Latios: And that particular teenager is oblivious, dense, and direction-impaired.**

***Pause***

**Ash: Hey!**

**Latios: Thank you for proving my point.**

**Narr: …Wait, aren't you **_**dead**_**? I asked slowly.**

**Latios: Yes. Where are you going with this?**

**Narr: *Facepalm* Go away! I demanded.**

**-~RCTM~-**


	3. In the Closet

**I know I'm posting this (comparatively) close to the second chapter, but I feel it's ready for release. No POV fumbles like last time (I think…please let me know if you spot any; though there shouldn't be), and I've thrown in some BodySlam teasing (And…well, **_**you'll see**_**…*Laughs evilly*) for good measure.**

**Also, Negi: Let the dissection…**_**begin**_**. *Insert ominous evil laugh here***

**Latios (muttering under breath): Could he **_**be**_** any cornier?**

**Q: Is Ash stuck as a Drapion?**

**A: No.**

**Q: Will Arceus find out what happened? **

**A: Eventually.**

**Q: If He does, will He change him back? **

**A: Only if he wants to be.**

**Q: Will he be able to shape shift at will like the Latis can? ("That one movie" is Heroes: Latias and Latios, by the way.)**

**A: My answer contains spoilers for most of the plot that occurs in this chapter (and the next), so the answer is in the AN at the end of Chapter the Third.**

**Q: Will Ash train his aura abilities? **

**A: …Haven't thought about that yet. (Probably, though.)**

**~Chapter the Second~**

_*Hchoo!* _A red and white plane-esque dragon sneezed, lying under the cover of a tree as snow blanketed the vast garden around her.

'I think someone was just talking about me,' She mused to herself. 'Or I'm catching a cold.' She dismissed offhandedly, and shivered. 'Better go in; I hate being sick.' She complained, flying away from the tree and into a nearby house.

_*End Sneeze Cut*_

_Pallet Town_

_Third Person Perspective_

"You're right, that _is_ pretty hard to believe." Bulbasaur deadpanned.

"Whatcha guys talkin' about?" Totodile asked curiously.

"The females who have a romantic interest in Ash, but I don't think you are of any age to di-" Torterra began, before the energetic water-type interrupted her.

"In order of intensity? Latias, Bayleef," The grass-type became bright red, as everyone snickered. "Misty, Casey, May, Dawn, Melody." He listed off rapidly.

A long, awkward silence.

"Who the _hell_ is Casey?" Gliscor finally asked.

"Who the _hell_ is Melody?" Bulbasaur asked redundantly.

"Who the _hell_ is…Wait, I already know who everyone else is. Never mind." Torterra added. "Er...How do you know so much about romance?"

"And where is the evidence of Latias's affection?" Bulbasaur asked, raising his eyebrow. Totodile just grinned.

"A stalker; some chick he met in the Orange Islands while trying to prevent a power-hungry megalomaniac from taking control of Lugia and the legendary birds and destroying the world's balance as a result; I have my ways; _aaa_nd-" _*THWACK* _The diminutive crocodile finished, rudely slapping a photo in the bulb dinosaur's face. "-Right there, _in your face!_"

"Hey!" He protested, and Gliscor peeled the photo off.

Immediately, the scorpion burst into laughter. "AHAHAHAHAAAA!"

"What is it?" Torterra asked with idle curiosity.

"J-just…*_wheeze_*…just, see for yourselves!" He pointed to the photo, which was now resting in the grass. Their eyes widened, though Bayleef cringed and turned away.

"Is that…is that _Bianca_?" Bulbasaur asked disbelievingly. Gliscor and Totodile both facepalmed.

The scorpion scowled and pointed to the girl's eyes. "Hello? _Amber_ eyes? Human eyes are _never _that color! Bianca's are _blue_…or green, or something. I never was one for specifics." **(He's wrong on both counts; they're brown. Which, to be fair, isn't all that distinguishable from amber…)**

"Wait, so you're saying Bayleef is…_right_?" Bulbasaur exclaimed incredulously.

"You say that like it's uncommon!" Bayleef protested. Again, he ignored her.

"_Weeeell, _I'm not sure that any self-respecting, non-desperate human female would care for a relationship with a gigantic black scorpion," Torterra added. "Especially considering one's irrational fear of bugs…but yes, Bayleef would be right."

"Hell, I'm not entirely sure that _Latias_ would still want to." Gliscor commented, cringing. Several of the group scowled at him.

"Psychics don't base attraction on physical appearance, only by their hearts and actions," Torterra countered smartly. "Though I can imagine that him being a dark-type would be a pretty big turn-off, regardless."

"How do you know all of that stuff?" Gliscor asked, dumbfounded at the dinosaur's knowledge.

"I read some of the professor's books and observational notes." She explained.

"Wait, wait; So he's actually _watched _pokemon-" Totodile began, before a group of screams filled the laboratory in the distance.

"What could possibly be going on in there that would make everyone scream like that?" She asked.

"Let's find out." Bulbasaur stated. "Come on, everyone."

_*Scene Flip*_

_Ash's Perspective; A few minutes earlier…_

"Okay everyone, breakfast is almost-_Nya-a-a-ah_!" Oak staggered, almost dropping the hissing, bacon-laden pan as he noticed a black Gallade with a blue chest spike and head blade sitting at the counter. When everyone else entered the room-either to see what Oak was stuttering on about, or simply to eat, they jumped about five feet in the air in response to the…_odd_…new development.

"Sheesh, you can stop reacting like that whenever you see me. I know you aren't comfortable around giant scorpions, but you can at least have some courtesy," I complained…and blinked rapidly. "Wait, did I just speak En-"

"You're a Gallade!" He observed. I stared at him, looking at him as if he had a third eye in the middle of his forehead.

"Uh; _Nooo_, I'm reasonably sure I'm a Drapion." I replied blankly.

"See for yourself." Pikachu added, holding up a mirror that he'd retrieved from…somewhere. **(Don't think too hard about it.)**

My eyes widened, and I looked at my arms, starting as I realized they were blades.

"H-how…what…" I breathed disbelievingly, examining my appearance. "Hold on, why can I speak English if I'm a pokemon?"

"Certain species' vocal cords are capable of formatting human languages, with the proper-albeit quite difficult and lengthy-training. As you were a human-and consequently already understand how to format such speech, and as Gallades are in this select category of pokemon, that would be why you can talk." Max explained.

"…Oh." I replied, obviously not understanding a word. Then again, neither did anyone else.

"Wait, wait. _Why_ is he a Gallade in the first place?" Dawn asked, confused.

"I believe that strange light somehow caused an instability in his genetic structure…causing him to change species at random." The professor deduced quickly. Everyone gasped.

"But what kind of 'strange light' could cause genetic instability?" Brock asked.

Pikachu suddenly had a thought. "I've got it!"

I blinked, turning to him. "You do?"

"Palkia's Spatial Rend attack can jumble up an organism's genetic code if it's too close to the attack's point of impact, **(A very **_**specific**_** distance, mind you; too far away, and it will just blow the person a few miles away; too **_**close**_**, and the unfortunate specimen gets splattered. TL,DR: Not a good day for the specimen)** and tends to have a purple glow." He explained simply.

'Purple glow…' I mused mentally. "Yes, you're right!" I exclaimed, turning back to the group. "I know what the light was!"

"Wait, _what_?" Oak asked incredulously, stunned that _Ash,_ of all people, had such a brainstorm. '_Maybe that new psychic type is actually making him…_smart_?' _He thought.

"A Spatial Rend attack!" I exclaimed triumphantly. Everyone sweatdropped. _'…Never mind.'_

"…When Sinnoh is _over four thousand miles_ away, and Palkia probably isn't even in _this dimension_? Yeah, that sounds _really_ plausible." Max asked flatly.

"We could probably ask one of the legendaries where it is." I replied sheepishly.

"…_What_?" Everyone deadpanned.

"And who do you propose we go to? The legendary birds, who are so asinine and territorial that they'd probably kill us all on sight-despite the dire punishment Lugia would undoubtedly give them? Manaphy, who is riding around in the ocean currents and is only-He-knows-where?" Oak asked.

"One, _you_ wouldn't be going; Two, I know a legendary or tw-" I began, before Pikachu cut me off.

"Latias?" Pikachu interrupted, winking at me for reasons I didn't entirely understand. I sincerely hoped my friend wasn't having a stroke.

"Uh, yeah. Her," I replied flatly. "And don't interrupt me next time. And why do you keep _winking at me_? Stop it!" Everyone sweatdropped.

"Same mannerisms, different species." Oak joked.

_*Shwing!* _"What was that?" I growled, readying a Slash.

"N-nothing…" He trailed off nervously.

"Sheesh, what's gotten into you?" Pikachu asked, surprised at his trainer's (excessively; remember, Ash Ketchum) rash behavior.

"Gallades are quite defensive and value honor above all else, so any insult directed at one is taken as a questioning of their dominance. The most common causes of death-in both wild _and_ trained Gallades-are suicide and fatal wounds, the latter typically being the result of fights to the death over their own honor." Max explained excessively.

"Okay Encyclopedia Kid, so what's the best way to get to Alto Mare from this lab?" May snarked.

"The Kanto-Johto Ferry Line serves as a link between the two continents, and among its main stops are Alto Mare Harbor, Olivine City Harbor, and Vermillion City Harbor. The line's flagship is the S.S. Milotic, which is on its final voyage to Slateport City, where it will be sold for scrap, the rest given to the local naval museum." He replied. His sister sweatdropped.

"Wow, I wasn't actually expecting you to know that." She replied honestly.

"But on occasion, some of its smaller ships stops at the dock right here in Pallet Town," He added. "In fact, a ferry should arrive here in about five minutes."

"How _incredibly_ convenient," Dawn deadpanned. "Especially that he knows the exact schedule of _every ship_."

"Hey, I'm not complaining!" I protested. "The sooner we can get to Palkia, the better!"

"R_iii_ght…" Misty deadpanned, not encouraged in the slightest. On the contrary, she was rather frightened about the prospect. Even for _Ash_, this plan sounded pretty foolish.

"Do you think we could at least get something to eat fi-" May began, before I wrapped my arms around the lot of them and dragged them right out of the front door, slipping my arm back in and retrieving my hat.

"No time; we can eat on the ship!" I exclaimed, sprinting off toward the docks.

"Hey, you gonna leave without saying goodbye?" Gliscor called, mocking hurt.

"If you want to talk, you're going to have to come with us!" I called.

"Sounds good to me!"

"Gliscor wait, are you sure that's such a-" Bulbasaur began, before the FlyScorpion flew right over him and caught up with his trainer's group. "-good…idea…" He trailed off weakly, sighing in exasperation and rubbing his temples with his vines. "And _now_ I remember why I stayed here. Oh well, here I go again…"

"Cheer up, Bulbasaur! At least you'll be back with the old gang again!" Totodile chattered excitedly.

He sighed again. "Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of."

"Could one of you bring him his pokeballs? I can't have him taking all of you without your containment." Oak handed Infernape a large briefcase of pokeballs, and Bulbasaur scowled at the term "containment."

"Vile humans…treating us like pets and prisoners…" He grumbled.

"Sheesh, when did you get so resentful of humanity? Lighten up, it's not like we're in a Nazi death camp." Infernape rebuffed. Everyone winced. "…Too soon?"

"Yes." Torterra commented offhandedly as she tromped past them, making a point to hit the fire ape with the tree on her back.

"Though to avoid attention, may I suggest you stay in your balls for the time being?" Oak added. Everyone paused, going back to where the professor was. Infernape handed him back the briefcase, and the old man quickly returned all of them, rushing out to the dock. "Ash! Wait up!"

"Huh?" I began, turning out from the side of the retreating boat.

"Take these!" The professor called, throwing the briefcase toward the boat…with_ nowhere _near enough force. **(So much for anime physics.) **Thinking quickly, I stopped the fall with a quick Psychic and safely retrieved it.

"What's in here, anyway?" I asked.

"Most of your pokemon!" He replied.

Nearly everyone in the group gaped openly. "Wait, _what_?" By the time I'd asked that, the boat was already too far away from shore.

"Well…may as well let a few of them out."

"But probably not a lot; we don't want to look conspicuous."

"Is an annoying Gliscor conspicuous?" May deadpanned, glaring over her shoulder at the excited scorpion doing laps above the ship.

"Hey!" He protested.

"Okay…Grovyle,-*_Record pausing*_

**(I'm keeping Ash's Sceptile a Grovyle because they're made of raw ninja awesome, and in comparison Sceptile is…To be blunt, it sucks. It's all bulky and has those yellow back…things.)**

_-_Heracross, Bayleef, and Bulbasaur, come on out!" I threw the four pokeballs, which released their prisoners-figuratively speaking; I've heard they're quite comfortable-onto the deck.

The giant rhinoceros beetle immediately tried to suck the nectar out of Bulbasaur's flower.

"AAAAAHHH! GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF ME!" He exclaimed frantically. I promptly grabbed the bug from underneath his arms and held him away. "Eeeugh, you're _disgusting_!" He snapped.

"_This is your captain speaking. The ferry trip to __Il Porto Della Città D'acqua __will take approximately…hmm, let's see here…_*sound of pages being turned*…_ah, yes; ten hours. Please enjoy your stay aboard the S.S. Minidraco. The snack bar opens in about thirty minutes, ample time for you to settle into your rooms and unpack."_ The captain intoned over the P.A.

"_Thirty_ minutes? Aaaaww…" I complained, stomach rumbling hungrily in agreement.

"He's probably right; we should get to our rooms," Brock said. Considering that he was carrying all of the luggage, you could see how he might be a _little_ eager to put it all down. "Quickly…" He groaned, the heavy load already slipping out of his grasp.

During all of this, Bayleef had simply been staring at me, trying in vain to do so discreetly.

"Hey," Grovyle said simply, tapping her on the shoulder and interrupting her reverie. "Look, I know how much you want to pounce him right here on the deck, but I don't think anyone-Ash included-would appreciate it. The only place I could think of would be a small, enclosed space where people change frequently, like a walk-in closet or a bathroom," He blinked, and you could practically see the Nasty Plot thought bubbles form over the dinosaur's head. "I just said that, didn't I?"

"Yeah…yeah, you did." She replied, voice carrying a sly tone. "I've got it!" She realized quietly, tromping off toward my group's room. How she knew _where_ it was without being told, one could never guess. **(Actually, she'd glanced at one of their tickets to find the room number.)**

"Aren't you at least going to tell me what '_it_' is? Hold up!" He called, quickly following her. "And if you're thinking what I think you are, don't go through with it!"

"I wonder where Bayleef and Grovyle are going off to…?" Misty wondered idly as she looked after them, Azurill trilling happily in her arms.

"Eheheh…I have a few ideas…" Brock added slyly. Max yanked his ear toward the deck, causing him to crash to the ground along with everyone's luggage.

We helped him pick up the luggage, deciding to take some of it off of his hands as we walked to the room. **(Yes, one room for the whole group. Who knew such a small ferry would have such expansive accommodations?)**

_*Scene Flip*_

_Walk-In Closet_

_Grovyle's Perspective_

"Bay, I still don't think this is a very good idea!" I hissed from behind a shroud of complimentary robes.

"Well, _you're_ not the one who came up with this plan." She countered from underneath a pile of empty shoeboxes. Why there was a pile of empty shoeboxes just lying around in the closet, well...

We heard the room door creak open as the luggage plopped down right outside the closet door, and I noticed wide, white feet from underneath the slit at the bottom.

'_Okay, here goes nothing…_' She thought determinedly.

_Bayleef's Perspective_

The door opened, and I heard the Gallade whistle idly as he unzipped Brock's suitcase to unpack a few of his clothes for him.

While his back was turned, I cleverly slid a vine to the door lock and turned it shut, at the same time slinking a vine right up behind the boy's middle.

Just before he could detect that something was amiss, I made my move, grabbing him around the midsection and tackling him to the ground. "WAA-" He began to scream, before I clamped my vines over his mouth. When he noticed it was me, he relaxed, and I removed my vines out of courtesy. "Oh, it's just you. Always finding new ways to sneak in a Body Slam, huh?" He asked weakly, aching from the heavy weight that was now compressing his internal organs. "Uh…mind getting off of me now? I really need to catch that buffet before all of the other passengers get there and take all of the good stuff."

I just smirked. "…Bayleef?" He asked weakly.

"Wait, what are you-_!_" He yelped as I-this-is-not-a-smutfic-so-the-narrator-is-not-going-to-go-into-details-You-Perverts. "Bayleef, stop it!"

I still ignored him, and pretended not to notice Grovyle slink out of the room and quietly close and lock the door behind him. "I don't plan on it…in fact, I've been waiting for this for a long time. And now seems like the perfect opportunity."

"What are-…oh no." As realization hit him, I rolled my eyes. "_Oh no_," His pupils began to shrink, as the color drained out of his features. "You aren't seriously thinking of…" I gave him a slight smirk of confirmation.

"Well, look who finally realized the obvious…Anyway, enough talk." I finished.

_*Scene Flip*_

_Buffet Bar_

_Third Person Perspective_

"Where could Ash possibly be?" Misty asked worriedly, glancing around the area and frowning when she failed to notice the trainer-turned-Drapion-turned-Gallade.

"Yeah, it's never like _him_ to miss free food." Brock joked. Everyone chuckled.

"Really." May added.

Pikachu's ear twitched as he heard something from the group's room, and he looked up from his food dish for a more intent eavesdrop. When he realized what the noise was, his eyes widened to comic proportions and his jaw slacked slightly. Quickly pretending that he hadn't heard anything, he returned to his food. '_Heh,'_ He thought jokingly. '_Sounds like _someone_ is getting lucky. But wait…_' The mouse glanced around the table…and other than Ash, only Bayleef was absent… '_Agh, she must have caught him unawares! If I'd been there, I could have stopped her!' _He nearly smacked himself on the forehead in lament.

"Well, I'm full. Think we should go back to the room?" Brock suggested.

Pikachu almost spoke up, before remembering that only Ash could translate his words into English for him. He supposed they would just have to find out for themselves.

"I don't see why not." Misty replied, and the group all headed for the entrance.

_*Scene Flip*_

_Walk-In Closet_

_Ash's Perspective_

I was sitting up against the wall, holding my head in my blades and banging the back of my head against it. Bayleef was lying on her side next to me.

"Well," Bayleef began awkwardly. Suddenly, she sighed…ruefully? "What was I thinking? Why did I even go through with it this time? Or _any_ time? Why couldn't I just forget it all?" She lamented.

"I never thought such an emotion was the kind of thing one could disregard." I replied weakly.

She raised an eyebrow noticeably at this comment. "What, so losing your virginity has turned you into this 'philosopher' all of a sudden?" She joked bluntly, and blinked. "Huh. Never thought I'd say that."

I scowled at her. "By the way, everyone else has just entered the room, and the girls are on their way in here right now." She paled slightly. "And you have no place to hide in such a short period of time, so we have no choice but to wait for them."

"…Gr_ee_at." She moaned, as the door swung open.

…

**Narr: …Yeah. I went there. I stated, breaking the silence.**

**Latios: Why do you keep narrating the tone of your speech? It's becoming **_**very**_** annoying!**

**Narr: Because I'm the **_**narrator**_**, duh. I stated in exasperation.**

**Latios: …What's a "narrator?"**

**Narrator: *Facepalm* I facepalmed.**

**Google Translat-ion Convention: "Minidraco" is Dratini's French name. "****Il Porto Della Città D'acqua" is Italian for "The Harbor of the Water City."**

**-~RCTM~-**


	4. Rock the Boat

**~Chapter the Third~**

**Rock the Boat**

**[shamelessplug]**

**I've started up a blog about game hacking (Action Replay, Cheat Engine, WinHEX, all that stuff). For the moment, it only has a few partially-completed inquests into the PMD2 series, but I'll soon have stuff about other series of games as well.**

**http: \ \ www . rctmasta - rollercoasters . webs . com**

**Ignore the Artifact Title; the site was going to be about my Roller Coaster Tycoon work before I changed my mind. And I'm not dishing out five dollars just to change the name.**

**[/shamelessplug]**

**Okay, enough with the advertisement. There's enough of that on the internet already.**

**On with the story!**

_*Scene Flip*_

_The Hall of Origin_

_Third Person Perspective_

"So…uh, have you figured out where it landed yet?" The space deity asked anxiously, looking over Giratina's shoulder (or the closest thing to it) at the map he was scouring over.

"_Will You Be _Patient_, Palkia?_ You've asked me that _twenty_ times within the past _ten minutes_, and all of those times I've answered _no_!" The basilisk spat. "The less you pester me, the sooner I will get this done. Go nag someone else."

The moment the annoying deity left the room, the basilisk rolled his eyes and returned to his work. "Now, I've calculate the average speed of the projectile…the distance from here to impact was about…" He trailed off, guessing based on what he'd seen earlier.

"…Two thousand three hundred and eighty-seven point seven-four miles." A familiar voice finished.

"I could have figured that out _myself_, Arceus." He snapped. "Hmm. The projectile was launched from a height of approximately thirty-six thousand, five-hundred twenty feet…Divide this by that…multiply this…carry the seven…Hmm, I think I've got it." He finished, plotting the latitude and longitude coordinates on the map.

His wing-tip hit landed precisely on the dot marking "Pallet Town."

"Hmph. Why does that location sound familiar…?" He mused, eyes widening suddenly. "Samuel Oak's Laboratory is in that hamlet."

"Pah! Knowing that 'Ketchum' boy's obsession with getting into adventures far too stressful and/or complicated for an average kid, it probably hit him in the face." Darkrai joked.

"Be quiet, Darkrai." The basilisk scolded. "Okay, who's going to go down there?"

'Ooh, ooh, I kno-' Latias began, eagerly raising her arm.

"Who else _besides _Latias? The last thing I need is the reconnaissance 'mon getting distracted." He scowled at the dragon's sickening affection for a _human_. (And a downright _stupid_ one, at that. Him being _ten_ in human years also added to the repulsion factor.) Eeeugh.

He was surprised that he hadn't banned her from the Hall for that…but then again, that was His decision, not His second-in-command's.

"Okay…Arc, can you pinpoint where Ash is at the moment?" The basilisk asked.

"He is…in the Azalea Sound, though I do not know where he is heading." He replied sagely, after a few moments of silence.

"He must be on a…an, uh…hmm, what was the word?" Darkrai trailed off.

"Boat." Giratina answered. "You regularly visit one of the largest passenger ports in Sinnoh; I would think you'd know what those big white floating things with motors are called." He added snidely. "_Idiot_…I think I'll just appoint someone myself."

"Have fun." Dialga deadpanned.

Giratina face-winged. "I wasn't volunteering _myself_, Dialga. Just for that, both you and Palkia are going."

"Fuck." The time dragon grumbled under his breath.

"W-what? But why do I-" The basilisk glared at him. "_Ooh_, right. The whole 'Sorry I turned you into a randomly-mutating freak of nature' apology I was gonna give to him."

"Don't forget that Ash is most likely going to attempt to murder you when you tell him his condition is _your_ fault. If he does-_somehow_-kill you, the space-time continuum is going to unbalance and fold in on itself, destroying anything that exist_ed_, exist_s_, or _ever_ _will_ exist." The space deity gulped nervously.

"No _pressure,_ or anything. Make haste!" He finished, unceremoniously shoving the time-space duo out of the Hall with his wing.

_*Scene Flip*_

_S.S. Minidraco_

What was occurring in the closet doorway can best be described as a highly one-sided shouting match loud enough to break glass.

"_ASHTON KETCHUM, HOW COULD YOU?"_ Misty screeched, hitting me in the face with her twenty-pound suitcase as the two others followed similar routines of impact-based punishment.

"You disappoint me, Ash." Pikachu scolded, shaking his head. "You're a strong Gallade, why couldn't you have fended the naïve girl off?"

I tottered in place, as if not paying attention to anything. "…Uhm, Ash?"

My vision suddenly turned white…

*_Kthump.*_

"He's fainted dead away." The rodent observed. Bayleef gasped in alarm, rushing to his side.

"What the…?" Dawn trailed off, turning around. "Ash!" She exclaimed in alarm.

"He deserved it…and why do you even care?" May grumbled.

"Aren't you going to help him?" She exclaimed incredulously.

"Absolutely not." She replied gruffly. The Sinnoh coordinator sighed in exasperation.

"If_ you_ aren't going to,_ I_ will. Brock, help me move him to the couch." The rock trainer nodded in affirmation, lifting my head and torso as Dawn grabbed my legs.

"I could have carried him myself, you know." The grass-type commented, though Dawn pointedly ignored her. May pretended not to hear her, and though neither of them could even understand her, the gesture still meant essentially the same thing. "So now I'm enemy number one, huh?" She muttered. "Humans can be so shallow..."

"As a former human, I…*_groan_*…resent that…" I replied weakly. "Aaah…my head…" I finished as the two set me on the couch.

"Hmm…" Brock hummed, whipping a medical dictionary out of his backpack and thumbing through it. "Most concussions require a minimum of two days to wear off; though have been known to cause permanent brain damage even after the immediate effects have lapsed."

Pikachu snorted, covering his mouth with his paw as Bayleef snickered. Even the furious girls couldn't help but crack small smiles and bite their lips to hold back from laughing.

"What's so funny about _permanent brain damage_?" I snarled, sitting up-

-And instantly regretting it, wincing and slowly lying back down as pain jolted through my head.

"I don't think him losing brain cells will cause any extensive damage." Pikachu joked. He and Bayleef couldn't take it anymore and exploded in laughter, along with the three girls.

Ash just pouted horizontally on the couch, crossing his arms.

Suddenly, a massive wave started to tip the ship.

"AAAH!" Everyone yelled out as the boat rocked violently to the side, angle coming closer to vertical with each passing second. Most of the luggage spilled out of the room and crashed through the windows-unfortunately falling into the ocean below and being lost forever-with the exception of my pokeball briefcase, which Bayleef had thought to grab with her vines, and everyone's backpacks, which they were still wearing.

It seemed as if a roaring storm had spontaneously appeared out of nowhere, but as Pikachu glanced at me he quickly deduced why the storm was occurring.

I was changing again.

I was far too busy with gripping a doorframe for dear life to avoid being sucked into the angry ocean below, but as my grip started to slip I had to glance at my arms.

Except, they weren't arms…or anything resembling them; they were _fins_. Wide, black fins that were growing larger by the second and had a strange pattern of glowing blue lines snaking across them.

As Max peered through the literal wall of water falling between the two of us, his eyes widened slightly. "I know why this storm is here!"

Everyone turned to look at him. "Ash is turning into a Kyogre!" A collective gasp pierced the roar of the powerful storm.

"The creator of the ocean? Why would turning into the creator of the seas spawn a storm, let alone one like _this_?" May yelled.

"Simple; see how those lines on his fins are glowing? That's the Drizzle ability acting up; Ash doesn't know how to control it, so it's just escalating in power continuously! Pretty soon, it'll be so strong that he'll be unable to stop, _even if he tries to_!" Everyone gasped again.

"Ash, you have to concentrate!" Misty reassured, turning her gaze back toward the door,-

-and blinking in confusion when he was nowhere to be seen.

Her confusion was resolved when she noticed a large silhouette floating in the vicious ocean below.

The water was becoming too much for even Bayleef's grip, and as her vines slipped free of a metal support post, she called out in alarm.

Seconds later, everyone's arm muscles failed in rapid succession, and they plummeted into the depths of the treacherous, unforgiving sea.

Noticing their dire predicament, I dove under the waves and had them grab onto my fins, breaching the surface seconds later.

I then closed my eyes, concentrating on the immense amount of power I could feel radiating from my body and sealing it away. Almost instantly, the clouds parted and the storm ceased…however, by that time the boat was far past the point of being able to right itself again.

Screams pierced the air as the boat capsized completely, and I **(Ah, Ash…always the 'valiant hero' *rolls eyes*)** dove back under the waves after putting my friends in a lifeboat that had conveniently surfaced from the wreck and floated over.

They called after me, but I paid them no attention. I caused this, and I was going to do whatever it took to make up for it by saving these innocent people…sans the boat, since I'd probably have the worst hangover anyone has ever experienced if I tried to right it telekinetically.

I grabbed each passenger I saw in a telekinetic hold and placed them on the freshly-exposed underbelly of the passenger ship, and as I scanned the ship for mental signatures, I noticed one I had missed.

A small signature was drifting lazily in one of the bathrooms. Quickly, I addressed the crowd. 'Someone is trapped in one of the restrooms; can any of you dive down there and get him?' **(Kyogre's telekinetic abilities are minimal at best, and are incapable of generating enough kinetic force to break through anything stouter than teak, and is obviously too large to fit through a door…unless that door happens to be the size of the Arc de Triomphe, anyway.)**

A man raised his hand. "I'm an underwater photographer."

'Good enough.' I replied curtly, and dove back underwater to lead him to the right room.

As he dove down after me and approached the room, he surfaced in a pocket of air to catch his breath, and dove back into the water towards the bathroom.

As he struggled futilely to open the door, he thought something back to me. _'I can hear_ _them moving around in the bathroom, but I think the force of the water is holding the door shut_!'

I decided to give it a little mental tug…

Which accidentally ripped the door right off its hinges, and gave me a splitting headache to boot.

However, that did free the trapped passenger. As soon as the door opened, I saw him frantically grab a young boy and make for the surface.

As I made sure all of the passengers were safely on the boat's hull, our group decided to make haste as Brock noticed an entire fleet of the Johto-Kanto Coast Guard approaching.

"Well, aside from Ash randomly morphing into a Kyogre and nearly drowning a few hundred people, this trip went very well." May commented optimistically.

Everyone glared at her, though Max had something scientific to say as usual. "Actually, I believe this transformation was brought on by your environmental stimuli-not unlike an Eevee's many methods of evolution-and was not random. So theoretically, if you were to get close enough a volcano, you would probably become a Magcargo, Drifloon, Magmortar, or other volcano-dwelling pokemon; possibly even Groudon or Heatran."

'…It does sound pretty awesome, when you put it like that.' I conceded.

"What, so suddenly turning into a _legendary pokemon_ isn't 'awesome' enough?" Pikachu exclaimed incredulously.

'I would be happier if I was a legendary that was capable of going on land.' I countered, heading in what I assumed was the direction of Alto Mare.

"You're going the wrong way, Ash." Max pointed out blandly. I sweatdropped, promptly turning around.

_*Scene Flip*_

_Somewhere near Johto-Kanto_

_Third Person Perspective_

"What in Arceus's name…" Dialga commented idly as he notice a capsized boat.

"I think Ash may have had something to do with this." Palkia added. His counterpart face-clawed.

"_You don't say_. Anyway,-Hold on. Palkia, do you see that?" He cut off, gesturing to a black Kyogre pulling a boat behind it.

"It looks like…a black Kyogre pulling a lifeboat?" Palkia answered disbelievingly.

**WOW. Took me long enough to update this, eh?**

**There's a long list of reasons why I haven't updated, but I'd like to take this opportunity to do something I haven't done since I've posted the prologue.**

**I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the story (and put me and/or it on update alert), and I'd also like to say I'll consider any-**_**reasonable**_**-suggestions you give. I'd particularly be interested to hear any…ahem, "pairing"…ideas.**

**Also, I'm actually running out of material to post, so the update frequency is probably going to get even less frequent.**

**-~RCTM~-**


	5. Capitolo Quarto

**~Capitolo Quarto~**

_*Scene Flip*_

_Alto Mare_

_Third Person Perspective_

The red and white dragon from the previous sneeze cut whistled disinterestedly as she skimmed over the streets and alleys for signs of crime…which, so far, were nonexistent. _'*Sigh*…Yet _another_ day where nothing happens._ _I'm getting tired of this; I want to relax!_'

'_**Sorry. I can't exactly do anything because…well, I'm **_**dead,**_** and you're the only replacement.'**_

'_Oh fate, cruel mistress, why must thine saddle me with mine late sibling's unfair burden?'_

'_**It wasn't **_**fate**_**; it was two greedy, power-hungry spies trying to take over the world with a machine that only controls this city's defense system. While I don't really know how that would have worked, that doesn't change the way that things are at present.'**_

'_Yeah, that _was_ a pretty ridiculous scheme.' _She was drawn from her mental conversation when she noticed a black…_whale?_…with blue patterns float into the city harbor, dragging a boat behind it.

'_**Uh…Latias? Are you seeing what I'm seeing?' **_He asked slowly.

She sweatdropped. _'Considering _you're _the one looking through _my_ eyes, I always am._ _But…well, it's a black Kyogre with blue patterns, and…there are five humans in a boat tied to its tailfin?'_

'_**Plus the Pikachu.**_**' **He pointed out. Sure enough, she noticed a yellow dot sitting on a red-headed girl's shoulder, and her stomach nearly leapt out of her throat.

'_A-ash has a Pikachu, _and _a red-haired sl-I mean, _girl-_who travels with him!_' She stuttered excitedly, and could hear her brother's amused chuckle echo through her mind.

'_**How many Pikachus-and redheads-are there? That could be any one of **_**millions**_**; I wouldn't get your hopes up.' **_He commented bemusedly.

'_Knowing how Ash constantly gets tangled up in various world-saving scenarios with any one of a number of legendaries-us included, who else _could_ it be?'_

Her brother laughed._** 'Good point. Just one problem: he isn't with that Kyogre. His friends are, though I can't understand why his friends would come **_**here**_**, of all places, without **_**him**_** as well.'**_

'_Maybe they 're on a vacation?' _She replied.

'_**And Kyogre just **_**happened **_**to be in the area, so they thought they'd ask her to tow them here to save on fuel? Unlikely.' **_He countered.

'_Regardless of the reason, I'm going down there.'_

_Ash's Perspective; Meanwhile, in a secluded canal…_

The canal I was in was just barely wide enough to fit me, and even then I had to hold my fins at my stomach to prevent from shaving my skin off on the rough stone walls.

Eventually, I stopped at one of the empty gondola docks-which was, mercifully enough, situated in a straight quite a bit wider than the previous pencil-thin canal-and held out one of my fins like a ramp.

After several seconds of them standing around on the dock and me floating lazily in the water-during which time a vaguely familiar guide rowed by us and nearly slipped off of his gondola in astonishment-nothing happened.

"So much for your 'environmental adaptation' theory, Max." May deadpanned.

'Hey, what gives? Why aren't I transforming yet?' I exclaimed indignantly.

After several more seconds, my friends' faces slowly shifted from impatient boredom to curious fascination. 'Huh? Is something finally happening?' I glanced at my fin…which was no longer there. '_Please be human please be human please be human…' _I chanted quietly to myself. When I opened my eyes again, I noticed I was sinking toward the bottom of the canal. My lungs flooded with saltwater, and I struggled furiously for the surface.

As soon as my head breached the surface, the rest of my group stared in astonishment. As I coughed up water, I asked mentally, '…I'm still not human, am I?'

"Last time I checked, humans don't have that many rings…well, unless they're gangsters." Max answered.

'Huh? What are you-' I looked down at my reflection, and yelped.

**Narr: CLIFFHANGER! I yelled.**

**Latios: What, again? You know, there are times when a suspenseful ending to a chapter is appropriate, but leaving one **_**every other chapter**_** gets really old, really fast. And even **_**with **_**this AN, the chapter is barely 800 words long!**

**Narr: Who's the one writing this, you or me? I asked irritatedly. And I think I'm entitled to a short chapter after writing 9,000 words already!**

**Latios: What, now I can't even give you advice? And no, it does **_**not**_** entitle you to shortsell your audience!**

**Narr: It sounded more like you were outright **_**telling**_** me how to write my story! I countered!**

**Latios: Oh yeah, well…! *Punches narrator in face***

**Narr: I wouldn't have expected a pompous, omnipotent ass like you to resort to violence. I coughed out, rubbing my cheek where he'd hit me. But I guess I was wrong.**

**Latios: **_**RAAAAAH! **_***Tackles narrator to floor***

**Narr: Ow! Fine, fine! I give! I conceded girlishly!**

'I'm an _Umbreon_?' I exclaimed incredulously, dragging myself out of the water, lying spread-Braviaried on the dock in a water-logged mess of white**(!)**fur and coughing up a large amount of ocean water.

"Which, even if you _have_ transformed due to your environment, still doesn't reinforce Max's theory," Brock pointed out. "After all, why would this 'response' turn you into a_ dark _type in broad _daylight_?"

"Maybe it's because Umbreon is classified as a 'domestic' species in Johto law, and therefore doesn't require constant containment when in an urban area?" Max countered.

'Y-yeah, but…' I began to interject.

"And, it's the only species in that category-besides Ninetales or Umbreonthat's naturally capable of telepathy." He added smartly, effectively silencing any retort I may have had.

I stood up, and proceeded to shake the water out of my fur…drenching everyone else in return.

"Hey!" May exclaimed indignantly.

'If I'm gonna disguise myself as a pokemon, I should probably act like one too.' I replied smugly.

"So all Ninetales are inconsiderate jerks?" She commented, still angry at me from the incident on the boat.

'I respect your opinion, but-' My stomach growled, and I paused awkwardly. '-…Eheh.'

Everyone sweatdropped. "You ate two hours ago, and you're _already_ hungry again?" Pikachu observed incredulously.

I gave him a wry look. "Capsizing ferries really works up my appetite."

"How about that bistro Bianca told us about last time?" Misty suggested.

Max nearly jumped out of his shoes. "W-wait, yeah! This is where you had that big fight with Team Rocket! You've gotta tell me everything!"

I blinked, glancing at the boy whose waist was barely higher than the tip of my upraised ear. 'Which one was that again?'

"You know, the one with...uh…" Misty whispered something in the boy's ear. "Latias and Latios?"

_Meanwhile, in a large, secluded garden…_

_*Third Person Perspective*_

'_W-where did they go? I see everyone but Kyogre; it's as if she vanished into thin air_!' The red dragoness thought in confusion.

'_Who knows_ _what happened to them.' _A vaguely familiar voice commented in the two Eons' minds.

'…_**Palkia?' **_Latios asked, now even more confused. _**'Why are you so close to Alto Mare?'**_

'_Looking for Ash.' _Dialga added.

'_**And why are **_**you-**_**…You know what, I'm not even going to ask.' **_He trailed off.

'_I'll tell you anyway. Palkia's Spatial Rend attack shot out of a window in the Hall and might have drastically altered him. Arceus told us he was somewhere around here, and we saw an upturned boat in the distance that looked like it was heading to Alto Mare. The whole reason we're trying to find him in the first place is because A) _someone_ needs to apologize for turning him into a shape-shifting freak and B) I…well, I…U-uh…' _Dialga explained, stumbling over his sentence for no apparent reason.

'…_Yes? You were saying?' _Palkia added.

'_On second thought, I probably shouldn't mention it with Latias listening.' _Dialga added.

'_Hmm?'_ She commented. '_Why?'_

'_Just forget it!' _He barked, shutting his mind out of the conversation.

Latias thought she noticed a strange fluctuation in the tone of his voice, but paid it no mind.

'_For a second there, he almost sounded like a girl._ _But that's ridiculous, of course…why would I only now be realizing an obvious thing like gender that after all this time?'_

Palkia and Latios were both even more confused at her comment. _**'Erm…what?' **_Latios asked.

'_Never mind, it's nothing important.' _She dismissed, but Palkia had already caught on to what she was thinking.

'_You're _just now_ figuring out that Dialga's a chick?' _He commented, chuckling. _'Either you're terrible at determining gender, or she's _really_ good at hiding it.'_

**(Narr: Even I was shocked at his statement.)**

'**What**_**?' **_Latios asked incredulously.

'_Are either of you in the mood for crazy theories?' _Latias asked. Her brother groaned tiredly. _'Because I think I have an idea of what she was trying to hide.'_

The space deity, once again, was quick to figure it out. _'Y-you think-*snigger*-that _Dialga_ is actually-*Bwaha!*-_smitten_ with the idiot? If there's one thing I know about her, it's that she's not exactly a lovesick schoolgirl. In a word,…'_

'_**Aggressive?'**_ Latios suggested.

'_Oh, definitely. She doesn't usually reveal her feelings, but when she does…Uh, Ash had better watch his back.'_

'_**Rings.' **_The dragon corrected. _**'Regarding that, I just found his signature at one of the local bistros. But I have to say…I wasn't expecting this.'**_

'_Expecting what?' _Latias asked curiously.

'_**He's an Umbreon.'**_

'…_Say what now?' _Palkia stated disbelievingly. _'Well…I'm glad I didn't turn him into a mutant abomination, but turning him into a pokemon probably didn't do him many favors either.'_

'_Let's try to catch him at the restaurant.' _Latias suggested, flying out of the garden and toward the location.

'_Dialga and I will meet you there. Watch for a woman with long silver hair and a guy with white hair and lavender shoes, that'll be us.' _Palkia added, before the conference call was cut off.

"So, did either of them find out if Ash is in the city?" Dialga asked.

He nodded. "Yep; at a restaurant. Let's go into our human forms; I'll lead the way."

**Yeah, Ash is a dark type again. I can't help it, they're just so awesome.**

**Essentially, he's now a color-inverted Umbreon (go on Bulbapedia, copy Umbreon's Sugimori art into MSPaint, and click "invert color" for a basic example of what he looks like now, sans the eyes which look really creepy).**

**Written version: He's an Umbreon with snow-white fur, navy blue rings, and bright turquoise eyes.**

**In other news, an explanation as to why I haven't updated for the last century****…**

**Minecraft.**

**That is all.**

**In still_ other_ news, I'm never, _ever_ going to post the remainder of Assembly. I've recently given it a second read-through (took me half a day, there's so much of it :P) and I have to say it's way worse than I initially thought****. In the words of the AVGN, **"**It sucking fucks, it fucking sucks, it fucking blows, it's a piece of shit... and **_**I don't like it**_**."**

…**Anyway, I'd like to give another huge 'thank you!' to everyone who's supported me thus far. You guys are awesome. I've got two other stories almost ready to be debuted coming up, so be on the lookout.  
><strong>

**-RCTM-**


	6. Darkness Rising

**Narr: So…it's, uh…been a while. *grins sheepishly***

**Latios: You procrastinate ****_far _****too much…**

**Narr: Read and enjoy, and all that good stuff. I'm not 100% about this chapter, but that's probably just my perfectionism getting the better of me as usual.**

**Latios: The author is so very sorry for keeping you all hanging for so very long, and will try his best not to do so from now on.**

**Narr: Err, yeah. That too.**

**Darkness Rising**

_*Scene Shift*_

_Il Canal Splendente_

Italian love ballads drawled over the restaurant's speakers as we sat at the patio and enjoyed our lunch.

"So Ash, what's it like?" May asked, pausing in her meal.

'Huh?' I replied, looking up at her. 'What's _what_ like?'

"Uh, you know…being a Pokemon?" She added.

I stared at the ground for a few seconds, and sighed. 'You'd think it would be awesome, but…I'm not so sure I like it. I mean, there are only so many telepathic Pokemon. How will I communicate with you guys if I morph into a non-telepathic Pokemon?'

"With any luck, you'll have…mastered the morphing, or something." Max said. "I've never heard of anything like this happening before, I don't know what to tell you."

Two people suddenly approached one of our tables. "Mind if we sit with you?" The male asked.

I glanced at them, raising an eyebrow at the man's strange attire. The man was wearing a combination of light pink and white, while the woman was at least reasonably dressed in a navy blue trenchcoat. If anything, their clothing colors should have been opposite. 'Can I help you?'

"I'm Palkia, and there's something else you need to know." He replied curtly. Everyone stared at him in disbelief, and Dawn's fork even dropped out of her hand.

"Eheheh…" 'Palkia' said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

May crossed her arms disbelievingly. "I'm not sure what Palkia is…but it sounds like a Pokemon name, and you certainly don't look like a Pokemon to me!"

He glanced at his accomplice, as if asking her permission. She shook her head at him, and mouthed the word '_No.'_

"What's up? Why aren't you speaking?" He whispered in her ear, covering his mouth with his hand.

She jerked her head in my direction. I stared at the two of them, wondering why they would possibly be talking about me if we hadn't even met until now.

He gave her a shocked look. "I never thought I'd say this, Dialga; but you're _scared _to meet your crush!" He hissed mockingly, and laughed, earning more suspicious glances from my group.

'_Be quiet, Palkia! You have no idea what you're talking about!'_ She scathed mentally.

_'Di-al-ga and Ash-ie, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-' *WHAM!*_ Dialga gave him a smack, sending him crashing to the ground. Many in the group jumped at the sudden attack.

The two addressed us again, though Palkia was now rubbing his welted face. We stared at the two of them oddly. "There was a Joltik on his cheek." She said, giving Palkia a brief glare.

"I think I would have _felt_ itif there were a Joltik on my face, Dia!" Palkia snapped.

"Call me 'Dia' one more time, and I'll do a lot more than smack you in the face." She said.

"Oh, so you admit it! You hit me on purpose!" The space deity accused.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Even a complete _idiot_ could have figured that out faster than you did! You were being an obnoxious, immature little _brat_!"

_'HEY!_' I exclaimed, snarling at the two of them. '_Will you two stop arguing with each other and _answer _me already?!_'

"I already told you. I'm Palkia." The strange man responded simply.

"Well, as we've already told _you_, we don't believe you!" Dawn responded.

_"__**I hate to interrupt, but I've picked up reports through one of the criminal group's radios that they're sending a pair of elite operatives down to Alto Mare to capture Ash. They know that he's a shape-shifter, and they want to take him to their research lab so that they can make an army of shape-shifting super-soldiers out of his freakish, abhorrent DNA. In short, get him to a safe location as soon as you can." **_Giratina telepathed to the two disguised Legendaries.

"Look, I don't care if you believe we're Legendary Pokemon or not, but we need to get to a secure location before a squadron of criminals captures Ash and used his DNA to make world-conquering super-soldiers." Dialga responded curtly.

'_What?!'_ I exclaimed incredulously, taking a fighting stance and looking around frantically for any sign of trouble.

_*CHANK!* _A grappling hook shot out from areas unseen and latched onto the cobblestoned patio, shattering the stones as the metal claws dug in.

"Ah!" May exclaimed, ducking underneath the table.

Pikachu hopped off of the table and took a battle stance next to me, sparking his cheeks and grinning in anticipation. "_Let's take 'em down like we always do, Ash!_"

A pair of figures clad in black helmets and full-body leather suits reeled in on the lines, disengaging as they reached the ground. The hooks retracted into strange devices on their wrists, and they took up a martial arts stance. "Ashton Ketchum! Surrender yourself over to Team Universe or prepare to be taken by force!" One of them said, voice muffled and distorted by the black helmet they were wearing.

'_I don't know who you guys are, but if you want to kidnap me you can go to the Distortion World!' _I said scathingly, baring my fangs at them.

"Pika-pi! _(Yeah!_)" Pikachu added.

"Very well…you leave us no choice!" The same Team Universe member responded, firing his hook directly at me. I noted with curiosity that the grappling hook was crackling with some sort of dark energy. Right now, though, I was more concerned with evading the weapon, not examining it.

I fired a Shadow Ball at the hook, which knocked it off course and caused it to dig into the wall behind me. He snarled in annoyance, somehow recalling the hook back to his hand.

The other villain fired at me again, though I dodged his hook as well.

They seemed to be rethinking their tactics, giving Pikachu an opportunity to fire off a Thunder attack at one of the men.

It dissipated harmlessly against his leather suit, and he fired his hook at Pikachu in retaliation. He rolled out of the weapon's path, though to everyone's astonishment the hook traced his movement!

Pikachu let out a 'Piiii?!' of surprise as he felt the cold metal wrap around his stout midsection, and then cried out as the hook began to drain the energy right out of him and into the man's suit!

'_Pikachu!_' I exclaimed. _'Leave him _alone, _you crooks! It's me you're after!'_ I snarled at the man who had disabled Pikachu. He laughed mockingly at me, and ordered his cohort to disable me.

He fired off his hook-shot again, though as I prepared to attack it I was surprised to see that this 'hook' was a short length of cable with a weight at both ends, spinning rapidly.

I fired a Shadow Ball at the hook, though it merely cut through the attack and kept on going!

I cried out as the metal bolo wrapped around my stomach and cut into my flesh, and collapsed to the ground as I felt the strange metal draining my energy. _'W-what…what the heck is this?' _I whimpered, vision going dark along the edges as my power rapidly drained out of me.

"Ash!" Misty exclaimed, stunned that I had actually been defeated.

"Hey, 'Team Universe'!" Dawn exclaimed. They looked at her, and prepared to fire a bolo at her as well. "Try _this_ guyon for size!" She grabbed the briefcase full of my Pokemon and opened it, throwing Charizard's ball on the ground. He emerged from the ball and roared intimidatingly at the two men.

The man fired his bolo at Charizard, who deflected it with a flick of his wing.

"Pfft. Is that all you've got?" He taunted, though of course they couldn't understand him.

"_I w-wouldn't underestimate them, Charizard! They've got some kind of energy drainer equipped to their weapons!_" I warned as bolts of dark energy arced across my body.

"Ash! Are you all right?! What did they do to you?!" Bayleef exclaimed, rushing toward me.

_"S-stay back! Don't touch me, or this thing will drain your energy too! Just leave me here and help everyone go after the two in the speedboat! You can't let them get away with my DNA!_" Charizard roared in response, and started to advance on them as he growled threateningly.

They back away nervously, and each of them fired their grappling hooks at a jet-black speedboat rocking in the canal nearby.

"_Hnnagh! W-well, what are you waiting for…get those two!" _I ordered, gritting my teeth as I struggled to stay conscious.

They quickly took off, and the rest of my group (not including my disabled Pikachu and the two strangers) gave chase to the two criminals.

"I think I can help with that bolo." Palkia said, and grabbed one end of the bolo and started to unwrap me.

As soon as he touched it, however, the bolo started smoking. I cried out in pain as I felt a massive rush of energy enter my body, and squeezed my eyes shut. _'A-aah!_ _W-what's happening?!_'

I became cloaked in a bright white light, to the astonishment of Palkia and Dialga. "E-evolving?! Arceus never made an evolution to Umbreon! Aww man, why is it that _I'm_ always the one to screw things up royally?" The space deity lamented.

"N-no, this isn't possible! He can't be evolving, unless the drastic increase in power is causing him to shift into a higher state of elemental being…" Dialga's eyes widened. "Palkia, get away from Ash _now_!"

_In a canal some distance away_…

"We've almost got them!" Brock called, riding on Charizard's back as the fire dragon started to close in on the speed boat.

**_*KRAKOOM!* _**A sound almost like thunder cut through the air, startling the group and causing Max to glance behind him. "Uhh…guys?" **_*KSSHK!* _**A bolt of dark energy lanced through the sky, hitting a house and causing it to explode into pile of burning rubble.

When Misty and May looked back, what they saw caused them to gasp in shock.

A massive column of purple haze was rising almost like a tornado from the bistro's location, and branching out in tendrils once it reached an apparently arbitrary height in the sky. Bolts of dark lightning frequently shot out of the storm cloud, destroying various things around the city.

_*__**KRACK!* **_A bolt of energy conveniently stuck the speedboat, causing it to explode in a large fireball.

Brock and Charizard landed on the path, and Dawn returned Charizard to his ball.

**_*GRRRRRAAAAAH!* _**An inhuman roar of fury echoed across the entire city, causing everyone to look to the direction of the noise. Bird Pokemon abruptly ceased their chirping, and started squawking loudly and fleeing en masse from the island.

**_"_**That can't be anything good…" Dawn said with trepidation.

_In the sky above Alto Mare_…

'_Agh!' _Latias cried out as an immense wave of dark energy hit her.

_'Latias, what's happening?!' _Latios asked, startled by his sister' sudden cry of pain.

_'A huge wave of dark energy just blasted through the town. That can't be anything good.'_

_'*Sigh* Why must that boy bring trouble _everywhere _he goes?' _Latios said.

_'Uh, actually…' _Palkia began uncertainly.

_'_Palkiaaaaa_…' _Latios groaned in exasperation. _'How many times have we told you; don't try to help, it only brings about terrible consequences.'_

_'So I was trying to take this energy-draining bolo off of Ash, but when I touched it-'_

**_'-You fed the concentrated potential energy of space itself directly into Ash, and overcharged him into an Elemental state.' _**Giratina interjected. **_'_****Damnit****_, Palkia! This is an even bigger disaster than turning the boy into a Pokemon!'_**

_'Look, I know! I get it; I've messed up real big this time!' _Palkia said placatively.

**_'I don't think you _****do****_ get it, _****Palkia****_, because you're not scared out of your skin like me and the other legendaries! Elementals are _****immensely ****_powerful beings, even-I daresay-on the same level as Arceus Himself!_** **_It's going to take either a miracle or an insane stunt to return Ash to his normal, non-universe destroying state, and I'm not stupid enough to take on a Dark Elemental, even with backup!' _**Giratina retorted.

_'…There is one thing we can do to stop him. I don't like it, but it may be our only option.' _Latias said. _'We can use the city's defense mechanisms to try and contain Ash, but…'_

**_'No, no, _****no! ****_Absolutely out of the question! I can't risk the lives of both you and Latios, _****two****_ of Arceus's children, just for a stunt that may not even work!'_**

_'Well, what else do you have in mind, then, _Giratina?!' Latias scathed. _'You _yourself _just said that it's going to take a crazy stunt to defeat Ash's darkness, and there's no guarantee he'll even survive being returned to normal!'_

**_'Look, Ash will return to his normal state eventually. All of the dark energy that the storm is bleeding off should cause him to return to normal, provided he doesn't absorb another source of immense elemental energy…' _**Giratina trailed off. **_'Get the Soul Dew. NOW! If he absorbs that, there's no stopping that storm! The two elements are constantly at war, and the consequences of two great sources of each element colliding are…well, they're not pretty, I'll tell you that!'_**

Latias's eyes widened in alarm, and she shot off toward the secret garden to retrieve the Soul Dew.

The rotating pillar of darkness sensed her psionic field as she moved, as from out of nowhere a particularly large bolt of dark energy lanced out and struck her, causing her to scream in pain and collapse just feet from the fountain holding the Soul Dew. Dark energy sparked around her, and she twitched on the ground and moaned in pain as Bianca rushed into the foyer to see what was wrong. The psychic dragon had just enough energy left to gesture between the Soul Dew and the encroaching storm before her mind went dark.

**_'Latias, is everything all right?' _**Giratina asked frantically after hearing her scream. **_'She's not responding. She must have gotten hit with a big jolt of dark energy, because her mind isn't even responding now...it must have been paralyzed by the attack.'_**

_'It's possible to paralyze someone's _mind?!' Palkia asked incredulously.

**_'Yes, though only with incalculable amounts of dark energy. Darkness, as a raw elemental force, suppresses psionic abilities, which nine times out of ten causes most of the mind to shut down, leaving only the base bodily functions intact. Everyone has some degree of psionic energy in their minds; it's actually where most-if not _****all****_-of someone's mental power originates. Not everyone can control this power (or even have enough to divert from standard brain usage), though psionics _**(Psychic-types)**_, spectres _**(Ghost-types)**_, and aura-capable individuals can.'_**

_'So that elemental just put a Legendary into a coma with a single jolt of energy?' _Dialga asked.

**_'Latias's presence has also alerted the elemental to the Soul Dew's signature, and as I've previously said, that's very bad.' _**Giratina said. **_'Palkia, open a rift to the garden and get Latias and the Soul Dew out of there before the elemental absorbs them both.'_**

Palkia opened a rift into the garden, and quickly grabbed the unconscious Latias and jumped back through the rift. As the rift sealed, the dark storm enveloped the Soul Dew.

A bright white light shone from inside the storm cloud, and a massive burst of energy exploded from the garden.

**_"Damn it, Palkia!" _**Giratina exclaimed. **_"The Soul Dew just fused with the Dark Elemental! Why didn't you stop it?!"_**

"_AAAAAAGH!" _Ash wailed as he was thrown out of the storm by the explosive force of the elemental clash.

_Back with Ash's friends_…

**_*KCHOOOM!* _**A powerful tremor rocked the city of Alto Mare, sending massive crevices splintering through the island as buildings and bridges collapsed in various areas of the city.

The three humans cried out as the ground lurched toward them, causing them to drop to the ground in an attempt to regain their balance. Lights turned on across the city, the citizens awakened by the roar of the massive elemental storm now swirling around the Secret Garden.

Lightning flashed in the sky, giving a certain dragon a glimpse of a teenager hurtling through the air at breakneck speeds.

Charizard roared in alarm and took to the sky in an instant, flying toward Ash in an attempt to catch him.

_Team Universe Central Command_

"Captain, there's a large Shadow Storm beginning in the Alto Mare principality!" A media surveillance technician alerted, causing Commander Proton to grin in satisfaction.

"_Excellent! _This is just the kind of opportunity we've been waiting for! Mobilize the elite squad, and _bring me that troublesome shapeshifter_!" The Commander ordered.

"Yes, sir!" He responded curtly. "_Elite Squad, report to the hangar bay for deployment."_

**…Bloody hell, that took fourteen months to get published. I'm sorry to everyone I kept waiting, but "real life" stuff loves to get in the way of hobbies, especially a hobby as intensive (for me, at least) as writing.**

**The next chapter is pretty much done as of the time I'm writing this footnote, so…it may get posted today, and it might not. I really don't know for sure, because my muse has been f-ing off on an almost daily basis as of late… :X **

**RCTM out. **


	7. A Lost Generation

**HEY GUYS, REMEMBER WHEN I WAS GONNA UPLOAD THIS THREE MONTHS AGO?  
>:X<strong>

…**Yeah, as you can probably tell, that didn't exactly go to plan. Not even slightly.  
>Mainly because X and Y happened, and I had to rewrite a good bit of this chapter due to some of the information revealed in the games.<strong>

**Let me know of any mistakes and I'll correct them as quickly as possible.**

**A Lost Generation**

_Alto Mare_

Ash landed in Charizard's outstretched arms with a thud, and the dragon quickly flew back to the group.

"Ash!" Brock exclaimed in surprise.

"B-but…if Ash isn't in control of the storm any more…who or what _is?!_" Dawn said worriedly.

"_**I am. Who else did you expect?" **_A purple and black Latios with startling pitch-black eyes suddenly materialized in front of them, causing several of them to step back in surprise. Charizard snarled in anger, firing a Blast Burn attack at the Latios.

The Latios phased in and out of existence as the Blast Burn came at him, and chuckled at the dragon's behavior. He retaliated with a Dark Pulse that sent Charizard flying into a building at breakneck speed. **"**_**Ah-ah-ah. I wouldn't try anything, if I were you. I'm only an illusion anyway, so attacks wouldn't do much."**_

"Charizard!" Misty exclaimed worriedly, rushing over to the dragon. Just before she reached him, she screamed in alarm as the dragon was enveloped in a sphere of dark energy.

The sphere dissipated, and Misty tensed as she noticed that Charizard was now covered in strange runic lines, and that its eyes were pitch black and filled with malice. The Dark Charizard fired a Shadow Fire attack at Misty, forcing her to jump out of the way as the fire charred the cobblestones.

"What did you do to Charizard?!" Misty screamed angrily at the projection.

"_**He is under my command now. You would do well to obey my demands, though I'm eager to oblige any of your suicidal tendencies." **_He chuckled darkly. _**"Palkia, you would do well to hear these words. Your ineptitude has finally brought about the end of this universe, for I am greater than Arceus in the vastness of my power! All will bow before my might!"**_

I groaned as I slowly got to my feet, and gasped in shock as I saw the dragon before me. _"_Yeah, well…"I said slowly. "You'll have to go through me first! I'm not going to let anyone-or any_thing_-destroy the universe as long I'm here to stop it!"

The dragon grinned evilly, and pinned me against a nearby wall by my neck, my arms reaching up to grab at the tendril of dark energy wrapped tightly around my throat. _**"Your death can easily be arranged, insolent human!"**_ The dark tendril tightened, causing me to gag.

'_I…don't…think…so…!' _I choked out defiantly as I was enveloped in a bright white light.

"_**You think that**__**anything you can transform into will stand a chance against me?" **_He roared.

'_Now that you mention it…' _The light shifted to a deep red hue, and the Latios was thrown into the opposite building as he was hit with an extremely powerful wind attack at point-blank range. _'I do think so! Latios, the power of a lost generation has been awakened, and it's going to be your downfall!'_

The light faded, revealing that I had transformed into a strange flying beast with long, rectangular wings and a similarly-shaped tail. All three wings ended in large, scooping claws, and my new form cast a Y-shaped shadow down on the group spectating below. My Yveltal form was a sleek black color, and had jagged red lines running down each of its three appendages. A plume of bright white feathers encircled my neck and draped down my back like a giant feather boa, trailing in the wind.

Everyone in our group gasped in astonishment as they saw what I had transformed into. "W-what _is _that?!_!_" Dawn said.

"_**Vel-TAAAAAL!" **_I screeched, taking a battle stance as I prepared to attack the Latios.

"All right, Ash!" Brock cheered. "Whatever that is, it looks really strong! That dark Latios doesn't stand a chance now!"

"_**Gahaha! You think a fancy card trick like **_**that**_** is going to defeat me?!"**_ He sneered. _**"Charizard, destroy this weakling!"**_

Charizard roared and lunged at me, though I strafed to the side and fired a Dragonbreath at my Charizard as he passed. He roared in pain and crashed to the ground, as paralysis set in and took the dragon out of the fight for good.

The Latios frowned. _**"Hmph…pathetic, just like his Trainer. Fine, I'll deal with you **_**myself**_**!"**_

I screeched at him and fired a Hurricane attack. The powerful attack was even stronger than normal due to the abnormal weather surrounding the storm, and shredded the apparition into pieces before it could dissolve away. The storm rumbled angrily at the brief loss of its protector, raining bolts of dark energy down at Alto Mare and destroying even more of the city.

'**YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!' **A shrill, grating voice roared in my head, causing me to wince.

'_Looks like I'll be taking the fight directly to you, now that your lackey is out of the way!'_

It reformed almost instantly, and scowled. _**"Don't count the 'lackey' out yet! I won't go down until the storm is down, and I'm afraid that's never going to happen! Prepare to **_**die**_**!" **_A wave of dark fire burst from the Latios's mouth and roared towards me, though I countered it with my own Sacred Fire.

There was a massive explosion where the two fire attacks connected, and both the Latios and I were pushed back several feet as the teens below shielded their faces from the smoke and debris.

"_**Hmph, it seems I may have underestimated you." **_He said, pausing as if to consider his options. _**"No matter! Let's…**_**mix it up a little**_**, shall we? Shadow Fossils, defend me!" **_He exclaimed, before vanishing in a wisp of black smoke.

"How can it revive the fossils? It's not even connected to the city!" Brock asked incredulously.

"With that storm-thing augmenting the fossil Pokemon's powers, those monsters will be completely unstoppable!" Misty said uneasily.

'_Nothing is invincible!' _I reassured. _'There's always a weakness to something, no matter how powerful it is! The hard part is finding that weakness, and exploiting it!'_

_Meanwhile, somewhere in another dimension…_

"Dammit, Palkia! Now you've gone and done it!" Dialga scolded. "Latias is disabled, His Chosen is in extreme peril, and to top it all off you've probably doomed the universe to annihilation with that damn Dark Elemental you created! Any other Elemental would be easy in comparison, but _no!_ It just had to be a _Dark _Elemental, the hardest type to control!"

"I can fix it! Really, I can!" Palkia said meekly, cowering under the angry form of the time goddess. "I'm not sure how much my power is reduced when it's stretched across multiple dimensions, but I think I can bind the Dark Elemental in a spatial bubble while you freeze it in time. Ash could then attack it while it's vulnerable, and that'll be the end of the thing!"

"It's never that simple, Palkia! Especially when you're dealing with something on the level of an Elemental!" Dialga responded scathingly.

"We have to try! I don't know what else we _can_ do, so we have to try!" Palkia said.

Dialga stood wordlessly for a minute, contemplating the possibilities. "I…_suppose_ you're right. Not doing anything against it is the worst move we could possibly make, short of deliberately giving it even more power. It's only going to become stronger and stronger with time, and it's best if we attack it while it's still young before even _He_ becomes powerless to stop it."

Palkia gulped. "O-okay. I'll tell the Chosen our plan." '_Ash!' _The space deity called out over the psychic ether.

'_I'm kind of busy at the moment!_' He responded dismissively, using his wings to deflect another Shadow Fire attack. _'I can't hold out against this thing forever, even with as much power as Yveltal's body has in reserve!'_

'_Ash, that 'thing' you're fighting is a Dark Elemental! I don't think anything in existence could-' _Palkia started to protest.

'_Yveltal is one of the most powerful Legendaries ever to have existed, so it's the best chance I have!'_ I responded, strafing out of the way of a Shadow Blitz and countering with a Dragon Claw to its back, causing it to vanish in a puff of haze as the storm rumbled angrily again.

Palkia gaped. _'Have you gone insane, Chosen One?! Yveltal's inner power will destroy you!' _

'_I don't have much of a choice if I want to stop this thing, now do I?!'_ I responded heatedly. _'Look, if I can weaken the storm enough by repeatedly destroying the fake Latios-'_

'_Ash, that's not just _any_ Latios! Each time you defeat it, a fraction of the real Guardian Latios's soul is lost!' _Palkia warned.

I sighed through the mental link. _"I…guessed that was how it was. But the only way I'm going to be able to get the Elemental weak enough to be disabled is to destroy the Soul Dew, its main energy reserve. I'm destroying one life to save an uncountable number of others!'_

"_**Shadow Bolt!" **_While I was momentarily distracted by my mental conversation, the Latios fired a bolt of dark energy at me that exploded on contact, stunning me and sending me head-first into a canal.

"ASH, NO!" Dawn exclaimed in alarm, staring agape at the canal I'd crashed into.

"_**See what becomes of those who defy me, insolent humans?! Not even the Chosen One himself can harm me! I'm afraid I must be rid of **_**you**_** as well; I can't take any chances, after all!"**_

'_I won't let you hurt my friends!' _I said, bursting out of the canal and shredding the apparition to pieces with Oblivion Wing.

"_**GAH! You're **_**still alive**_**?! You just don't know when to quit, do you?! JUST! DIE! ALREADY!"**_ The apparition fired a series of Dark Pulses at me to accentuate his statement, though I managed to avoid them.

Suddenly, a pitch-black skeletal Kabutops with red eyes dashed in front of the apparition and took an offensive stance towards me. The Aerodactyl screeched at me and hovered in front of the Latios, shrieking and snarling as if to intimidate me. _**"Kabutops, Aerodactyl, dispose of him!"**_

The Aerodactyl screeched and suddenly shot towards me with a Shadow End attack, which I barely managed to dodge.

As it turned around to dive at me again, a powerful Spacial Rend attack came out of nowhere and smashed into its back, causing it to screech in pain as it dissipated into specks of purple light.

'_You look like you could use some help!_' Palkia said as he emerged from a space-time rift right where the Aerodactyl had disappeared.

The Kabutops shrieked and launched itself at Palkia. The dragon deflected the attack with Safeguard, and roared in anger. _'Not today, fossil!' _Palkia's pink shoulder gems began to glow ominously as its arm became cloaked in white light. _'SPACIAL REND!'_

The space deity dove at the Kabutops with lightning-fast reflexes, though to everyone's disbelief the shadow fossil parried Palkia's attack with a Shadow Blast. Where the attacks met, an explosion cloaked the battlefield in a thick cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the Shadow Kabutops had pinned Palkia to the ground, the dragon struggling futilely against the fossil's absurd strength.

'H-how is that thing so_ fast?!' _I exclaimed in disbelief.

"Looks like Ash and Palkia could use a little help! Crobat, Marshtomp, Croagunk, go!" Brock said, releasing his Pokemon.

"Togekiss, Mamoswine, Quilava, you too!" Dawn added.

The six Pokemon took battle stances as they faced the Kabutops, as Misty and May both selected their Pokemon and sent them out.

"Glaceon, Venusaur, Blaziken, go! Let's help Ash and Palkia fight that Kabutops!" May said, releasing her Pokemon.

'_Alright everyone, focus all of your attacks on Kabutops, but don't get too close! We just need to distract it so that me, Ash, and Palkia can get in close and calm the elemental storm!' _Dialga ordered.

"Glaceon, use Blizzard! Venusaur, Frenzy Plant! Blaziken, Blast Burn!" May commanded. The pokemon released their attacks at the shadow fossil's vulnerable back, but even those powerful attacks only managed to do cosmetic damage to the Kabutops's armor. They did, however, succeed in diverting the trilobite's attention from Palkia just long enough for the dragon to break free and charge an attack.

'_Chew on THIS, you overpowered bony bottom-feeder!' _Palkia taunted. While it was distracted, the space deity launched an Aura Sphere at the Kabutops's chest at point-blank range, causing it to let out a brief shriek of agony before its body was quickly dissolved by Palkia's intense positive aura.

My eyes widened in surprise as I saw how Aura Sphere affected the Shadow Kabutops. _'That's it! Aura attacks are strong against Shadow-type Pokemon! I think we might be able to overpower him if we concentrate everyone's positive thoughts and Auras into a single attack!' _I said to Dialga and Palkia.

'_Tell the others your plan, now! The storm is building up a massive amount of energy for some sort of attack, so do something about it before the storm gets a chance to release it!' _Dialga warned.

'_Listen up, everyone! Aura is the Shadow-type's weakness, so I want you all to think of the happiest memory you can, focus on it, and feed it into my own thoughts!' _I said.

I brought my three hand-wings in front of me, and hummed in concentration as an orb of shimmering, turquoise Aura started to form in my claws. The sphere began to swirl with several different colors as the others' Auras were fed into the attack, and as soon as it had reached about six feet in diameter, I fired it directly at the Elemental's heart.

To everyone's shock, the storm released a dark purple Aura Sphere of its owndirectly at ours, though it looked to be at least three times larger. Both sides had put their all into their last attacks; I could tell this was going to be quite the spectacular finale. In a matter of moments, the two attacks collided, producing a spectacular explosion.

_***BVOOM!* **_My vision turned white, and my hearing suddenly left me as the buildings around the explosion shattered into fragments of wood and stone, and the immense shockwave that followed turned my world upside down and made my body feel like it was on fire. I felt myself slam into the water at breakneck speed, knocking me out cold as my limp body slowly sank to the bottom of the ocean.

**What will happen to Ash and our heroes? Has the universe been saved from an untimely demise?  
>Find out, in the next installment of TLTS!<br>(By the way, Happy Halloween!)  
>-RCTM<strong>


	8. (J) Ancient Secrets Unearthed

**So, real life's still a bitch, but getting an Xbox 360 for Christmas hardly helps matters either. I'm really going to try to update more, starting with this TLTS side-plot since I'm struggling a bit on where to take Ash's storyline.  
>This is one of the new stories I'd mentioned before; Artifacts. I was originally going to make this a standalone story that focused on a sideline plot in TLTS, but figured I may as well combine them since their paths are going to merge later anyway.<br>From this chapter onward, chapters focusing on Ash's group will be prefixed with (A) on the chapter dropdown list, and chapters focusing on Jonathan's group will have a (J) prefix.  
>As far as time-frame goes, this chapter starts around three days before Ash is turned into a shape-shifter at the beginning of TLTS.<strong>

**So, in lieu of the main 'Ash' plot, here's the introduction to the 'Jonathan' storyline, which delves into exactly what Team Universe has got planned for the Pokemon world…  
>-RCTM<strong>

**Ancient Secrets Unearthed**

_Somewhere in the suburbs of Goldenrod City, in the Johto region…_

The scene opens with a brown-haired teenage boy and his Sandslash rooting through boxes of old junk in their house's attic.

"Found anything interesting, Sandra?" He asked the ground-type, obviously weary from hours of fruitless searching.

"That depends, Nathan. Do you find dusty old books and broken trinkets 'interesting?'" She deadpanned, holding up a ratty old Arcean Bible by the corner.

"Not really," Suddenly, he paused. "Whoa, what's this?"

The pangolin looked over her trainer's shoulder at the object, and raised her eyebrows in interest.

In Jonthan's hands was a gourd filled with holes…but this was, quite obviously, no _ordinary_ gourd filled with holes.

It was hollow, and was made of what appeared to be pure blue crystal, with an extremely convoluted series of holes carved out of it that seemed to serve no purpose whatsoever.

"Finally, something vaguely interesting." He sighed, carefully setting the object down on a nearby table. "What do you think it is?"

"Looks like it's an ocarina." She replied simply.

"Oca-what now?" He asked, even more confused.

"It's a type of ancient musical instrument. Haven't seen very many of them; they're only made by a select few musical enthusiasts at this point, and certainly don't come cheap."

The second the duo turned their backs on it, the object was rolling across the table and headed for the floor.

Nathan quickly made a dive for the bizarre crystalline instrument, but it was far too late.

The ocarina hit the floor.

_Meanwhile…  
>Old Chateau, Eterna Forest, Sinnoh<em>

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," A turquoise-haired man in a bright white suit announced to a crowd of people sitting at the dilapidated house's dining table. "Now, you must be wondering why I've brought you here today. Well, I'll give you a straight answer,"

He stood up, and placed his hands on the table. "A plan for world domination; and this time I'm certain we won't fail. All I ask is this: Join me. Join me in my new organization, one that desires nothing but complete control over the world; even the galaxy…and you shall be rewarded very,_ very_ handsomely." He addressed the person closest to him, a man wearing a fine navy blue suit and a light blue bandana that looked completely out of place with what he was wearing.

"Archie Krieger; you want a world covered in water, correct? What if I told you that I could _make _you your own planet, one inhabited only by aquatic Pokemon, one that only you would rule over with Kyogre, Lugia, and Manaphy as your servants...would you be at all persuaded?"

He turned to his right, this time addressing a man with a burgundy coat and red, jagged hair. "Maxie Ray, you desire a world covered in land. You, too, would receive your own planet if my-no, _our_-plans come to their fruition. You, like Archie, would rule over this planet exclusively, with Groudon and Heatran as your eternal servants."

"'ey, wadda bout us?!" A cat sneered from the far end of the table, and the executive rolled his eyes.

"Go pester that 'Ketchup' boy, or whatever his name was. You will come into my plan at some point, I'm sure." He replied with a flourish of the hand, not even bothering to turn around.

"Now that those bumbling fools are gone: Cyrus, I have a proposal for you."

They raised their eyebrows in interest, and Archer continued. "The Ocarina of Origin has been located in Johto; find it as soon as your people can. This is the one Artifact we cannot _at all_ afford to lose."

_Meanwhile, back in the house…_

Sandra and Nathan closed their eyes in preparation for the unwelcome sound of shattering glass.

But when none came, they opened their eyes.

The crystalline gourd was lying on the floor, and was completely unscathed. Nathan picked up the instrument in fascination. "It's nearly indestructible! What is this thing made of?"

"I think that's enough searching for today. Besides there's probably many other things you'd rather do on a late weekend evening than digging through useless junk." She paused, and the boy's head jerked downward as he nodded off. "Sleeping, for instance."

He shook his head rapidly to get rid of his drowsiness. "Good point, it's probably getting pretty late."

_The next morning…_

Sandra groggily lumbered out of her bedroom, heading for Nathan's own door.

However, she had to pause as she reached for to doorknob, for she heard a very odd sound emanating from behind the door…the muffled sound of Jonathan moaning.

She rolled her eyes. "Pssh, teenagers." As she made to turn away, she heard him…say her name?

The pangolin's mind was instantly sent reeling. _'I'm not sure whether to be disturbed, nauseated, or flattered by that.'_

She chose not to '_interrupt' _him-as that would only make things awkward-and just walked quietly down the stairs.

Her back plates felt like they weighed about fifteen tons from her morning grogginess, and coffee always relieves some of that early morning tension. Not to say that masturbation _doesn't_, but Sandra wasn't one to be distracted by petty urges like sex.

Claws kind of made that sort of thing hard, anyway.

_In the kitchen…_

_Sandra's Perspective_

"Morning Sandra." Nathan's dad, Adam, greeted as I entered. He was making eggs and bacon for everyone. Grease was hissing and bubbling raucously in the pan.

"Coffee." Was all I managed as a reply, grabbing a cup from the cupboard and pouring myself some coffee from the freshly-brewed pitcher of it that was residing enticingly in the coffeemaker.

I almost brought up the subject of Nathan's…_odd_…fantasy, before remembering that humans, for whatever undoubtedly_ stupid_ reason, treated such subjects as taboo.

Then again, so was having sexual relations with a pokemon. But there was Nathan, wanking off to thoughts of his own Sandslash. A _Sandslash, _of all things.

I was definitely going to discuss this with him at some point.

Just then, Nathan trod down the stairs…and for reasons that only I was aware of, avoided looking directly at me.

"Hungry?" Adam asked enthusiastically.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be in the study." I stated abruptly, walking upstairs as I finished my coffee. "And y'can stop staring at my ass." I pointed out, causing him to blush and turn away and Adam to raise an eyebrow.

"Pardon?" He asked incredulously. "Nathan, were you-"

"N-no, of course not! How could you even think of such a thing?" He defended all-too-readily.

"By the way, Nathan? We need to talk." Sandra added.

Adam gave me a grave look. "The four words every man fears!" As I turned away, he rested his hand on my shoulder. "Arceusspeed!"

I rolled my eyes and made my way up the stairs, entering the study.

"Your bedroom walls aren't as soundproof as you think they are," I started off, and could instantly see his face turn a very deep shade of red. "Let's start off simple; Why me?"

"W-what do you mean?" He asked nervously.

"You know _exactly_ what I mean, Nathaniel Scott Loest." I retorted, eyes narrowing expectantly at him, which only seemed to further exacerbate his anxiety.

"Uh…w-well, I…" He stuttered. "I'm…fantasizing about a Pokemon as a 'take-that' to my recently-separated girlfriend?" He answered.

I paused, and gave him a good, hard stare in the eye.

"You're still lying, though that was an…_entertaining_ answer." I commented. "…And was that an attempt at my appearance?"

"No, I really am saying that you're more attractive than her." I was taken aback, if only for a moment.

"Wow, she must have the appeal of a granite block. I'll repeat my question, though. Why me? I'm a freaking _anteater_, and a particularly uninteresting one at that." I stated matter-of-factly.

"_Pangolin_. And you're very interesting." He corrected.

I would have smacked him if it didn't carry the risk of severely damaging his face.

"Will you quite beating around the fucking bush and answer my question?" I snarled impatiently.

"Your personality." He answered finally.

"Really? So what you're saying is; you find cynical, spine-plated, poisonous pangolins sexually attractive?"

"W-well, when you put it that way-" He cut in unsurely.

"And you've tried your luck with human women-who were all abusive, dumb sluts who base their attraction solely on a man's popularity, wealth, and dick size-and thought you'd make passes at your own Sandslash and see where it got you?" I taunted.

Surprisingly, he burst out laughing. "See, that's what I'm talking about. You're funny, smart, cynical, unrestrained…and that's why I like you so much." He finished.

"…Bleh, it's too early for this. Bye, Nathan." I commented, leaving the study in disgust.

As soon as I'd left the room, he started jumping for joy behind me. Noticing his behavior, I smirked and shook my head bemusedly.

_A bit later…_

"Well, have you figured out the story behind that ocarina yet?" I asked, sitting beside him at his desk as he examined a piece of sheet music he'd found inside the flute.

"Based on what I could dig up from our library and the Internet, this instrument is called the 'Ocarina of Origin,' and was used in ancient times to allow humans to access the Hall of Origin far above Mt. Coronet in the Sinnoh region. Up until recently, I thought the Hall was just a myth. Now…I don't know what to believe. This ocarina certainly implies the place's existence, but this could just as easily be a fabrication or replica, like the collectible repros of that blue ocarina from _The Legend of Zapdos: Ocarina of Thunder_."

"Why d-…Wait a minute, what did you say?" I asked suddenly.

"The Ocarina of Thunder? That's just a made-up artifact for a video game; it's not real, Sandra."

"I read about a legend in one of the other old books collecting dust in the study; about the twenty-five Elemental Ocarinas," I began, and could visibly see his eyes brighten in interest, so I continued.

"It's said that there was one for each element and type, and possessing one allowed the bearer to unlock their 'ultimate potential' if their primary type matched what that specific ocarina resonated with. And the 'type' moniker doesn't just apply to Pokemon; whatever ocarina humans can use depends on their aura. For example, a brash, arrogant teenager would probably be able to use the Inferno and Muscle Ocarinas. There definitely exist at least seven others as far as the book's writers know, though all of these are shrouded in mystery: The Ocarinas of Time, Space, Chaos, and Origin. There are supposedly three others, based on some ancient Pokelantean scriptures describing them, but their purposes and even names were lost along with the city long, long ago."

His eyes widened in shock. "Wait…so this is one of the rarest, most valuable artifacts in existence?"

I nodded. "There's more. If all of the Ocarinas are assembled, it fuses to create the ultimate instrument; one that causes every living thing in a large area around the player to bend, completely and unquestioningly, to their will."

"So what you're telling me, is that this is the primary piece of an global-dictatorship-creating musical instrument?" He asked weakly, turning pale. "We can't let this get into the wrong hands."

I shook my head. "Actually, it's almost completely useless without the other Ocarinas."

He raised an eyebrow, again. "Almost?"

"As I said, a special song can be played on the instrument to gain access to the Hall of Origin. …As it happens, the sheet music you found inside the Ocarina seems to be for that very song."

There was a brief bout of silence.

"So…know how to play an ocarina?" I asked. He responded with an incredulous look that quite obviously said 'no.' "Well, shit. Then this thing really _i_s useless," I commented. "Do your parents have a safe?"

He blinked. "I don't know. Would you trust _your _adolescent son or your talking pet with the location of all of your valuables?"

"Good point. Well, let's ask Adam if we can put this in the safe. Even if we can't play it, it still needs to be kept under tight security so that nobody else can." I replied.

"Wouldn't a bank or a safe deposit box be better for that sort of thing?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Those places are obvious targets for anyone who's searching for precious ancient instruments to take over the world with."

"Lunch is ready!" Martha, Nathan's mother, announced from the bottom of the stairwell.

"Perfect timing." I commented, as the two of us descended the stairs with ocarina resting securely in Nathan's hands.

"John, what's that in your hand?" Adam questioned.

"I'll get to that; do we have a safe? Because I was-mgfff ggmh!" He began to ramble, before I covered his mouth with a paw.

"You'll have to excuse him; he doesn't know how to ease into a topic." I commented wryly as John glared at me.

"U-uh, yes. We do have a safe, but it's just for jewelry. May I ask what this has to do with that thing you're holding?" He asked.

"It's called an ocarina. And John and I were wondering if it could be put in the safe. From what I've read, if it falls into the wrong hands it could have world-destroying implications." Martha and Adam's eyes widened in astonishment. "But only if you assemble twenty-four other ocarinas with it and play a special song."

Adam sighed, rubbing his temple. "Catch me up over lunch, because I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter; please don't hesitate to review or drop me a PM if you have any questions or comments!**

**-RCTM**


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